The Latest Breaking News from Texas Observer

Texas Taxpayers Will Fund Dozens of Private Schools that Openly Discriminate

The state has signed off on voucher funds for schools that exclude non-Christian and LGBTQ+ kids.

Texas Observer · Jan 13

Texas Police Invested Millions in a Shadowy Phone-Tracking Software. They Won’t Say How They’ve Used It.

One sheriff who leads an anti-smuggling task force says the software helps “develop leads to eventually obtain probable cause.” Civil liberties experts say its use violates constitutional rights.

Texas Observer · Jan 13

A Dallas Megadonor, a New Nonprofit, and the War on ‘Housing First’

A scheme to relocate the unhoused out of one Texas city's downtown sheds light on a larger right-wing takeover of federal homelessness policy.

Texas Observer · Jan 12

Our Most-Read Stories of 2025

Some of the articles that y'all really loved this year

Texas Observer · Dec 29, 2025

Our Best Longform Stories of 2025

Nonfiction that's meant to be started, finished, and leave you with something to show for it

Texas Observer · Dec 22, 2025

A Light the Darkness Cannot Extinguish

At the close of an awful year, a religion scholar offers reflections on resisting despair in dark times, for the religious and non-religious alike.

Texas Observer · Dec 19, 2025

At the Texas AFL-CIO, a Changing of the Guard in a Time of Growth

“No one has done more than Rick Levy for the modern-day labor movement in Texas.”

Texas Observer · Dec 18, 2025

Hereditary

The train tracks leading to my grandma’s house always reminded me of a spine.

Texas Observer · Dec 18, 2025

Under Operation Lone Star, Texas State Police More than Doubled Their Drone Fleet

The Department of Public Safety has acquired an army of unmanned aerial vehicles—nearly as large as the U.S. Border Patrol's.

Texas Observer · Dec 17, 2025

Everyone Knows Jasmine Crockett. Could That Be a Good Thing?

Her critics would prefer a lesser-known candidate who can concoct a bipartisan pitch. But the Dallas congresswoman believes she’s starting “on second or third base.”

Texas Observer · Dec 16, 2025